Eco-Zip Adventure

me and my family getting ready.

We took a ferry to Waiheke Island and did the Eco-Zip Adventure. It was a series of three zip-lines. The first one was a gentle but fast descent. The second one was a little faster and also the longest zip. The third was AWESOME! It was the highest, fastest, and by far the best one! After the zip line, we did a hike back and  our guide, Morgan, told us interesting facts about the forest. Supple Jack vine hangs down from rainforest trees and can be cut open for a half cup of water. We also saw a Puriri tree which is considered the mother of the forest by the Maori because it flowers and produces fruit all year. It also is where the ghost moth burrows for 5-7 years. When the moth comes out, it only lives 2 days! Next, we saw the Totara Tree which is a very strong and straight tree that can grow to 40-50 meters and be as wide as 7 feet. Totara is used as a word for "mana" by the Maori and it means strength, honor and humility. 

Queenstown

We ended our camper van trip in Queenstown. It is known as the adventure capital of New Zealand. First, we did the Shotover Jet. It was thrilling! With 360 degree spins and narrow misses on the rockface, it was by far the most action-packed part of our trip. Except, of course, the Skyline Luge. To get to the luge, you go on  a steep gondola and then take a short ride on a chairlift. You are up really high! You start out by getting safety instructions and then you are ready to roll. The cart is on a wide concrete path so you have to steer or you might go off the track. It's fast paced, gravity powered fun! 

  
We ended our time in Queenstown by taking a cruise though the fiord lands. We took a cruise across Lake Manapouri, then did a bus tour of the Manapouri Power Plant. It is the largest(and only) underground Hydroelectric power station. Another thing is that it is a remote controlled station. Running at full capacity it could power 85% of the South Island.

After the power plant tour, we got on another boat to take a cruise on the Doubtful Sound. We saw seals at the mouth of the sound and the boat ride got a little bumpy when we made it all the way out to the Tasman Sea. The fiord lands are very green and filled with many kinds of trees and ferns and also seals, penguins and bottlenose dolphins. The Doubtful Sound was named by Captain Cook in 1770 because he wasn't sure if it was safe to sail there.   

Manapouri Power Station

 
  

This is what is underground at the power station

                                    

The top deck of the boat was really windy

This NZ flag is red because it's on a boat

Another view of fiord lands

Seals

Puzzling World

After the Franz Josef glacier, we drove to the town of Wanaka and visited a place called Puzzling World. It was a place that had a lot of illusions, holograms and mind tricks. It also had a labyrinth, which means a multi-level maze. It was the biggest maze I had ever seen! It took us a looooooooooooooong time to get out. One of the coolest things there was a room that was tilted on its side. You could lean really far forward and not fall. Other cool parts were the room with a wall of 3D faces that seemed to follow you around. And we really liked the room that created the illusion of one person as a giant and the other person as super short.  I hope we can go there again.

South Island: Part 2

When I left off, we were at Punakaiki Rocks. After that we got back in our camper van and headed toward the town of  Greymouth.  We stopped at a place called Bullers Gorge and walked on a swing bridge. The area had a whole lot of BEES!*  After the swing bridge,we did a hike and saw a native Zealand bird called a weka. We thought it was a kiwi but then we saw a sign and realized kiwi only come out at night. We got to Greymouth in the late afternoon and went to the nearest beach which was right next to our camp site. I built a teepee made out of sticks with my brother and we looked for jade, a sacred stone that you can actually find on the beach.
 In the morning, we had breakfast in the camper van and headed to the Franz  Josef glacier. The person who discovered it is named Julius Von Haast but he named it after an emperor, Franz Josef 1 of Austria.  
We got within 200 meters of the glacier, but chunks of ice fall daily so its not safe to get too close.
The glacier is 12 km(7.5 miles) long and is unique because its base is only 300 meters above sea level.   The glacier has about 250,000 visitors a year!

Building teepee at Greymouth Beach

Here's a Weka

Getting ready to walk to the glacier

Here's the glacier...watch out for falling rocks and ice!

Hiking back down

Doing a flip on the trampoline at the Franz Josef camp site...

*see post "bees" coming soon

South Island

Wow, it has been  a long time since I have done a blog post so here is a quick briefing on where I've been. First, we flew into Christchurch. From there, we picked up a large camper van and drove to a town called Hanmer Springs . This town has a hot pools complex which includes thermal soaking pools and 2 water slides. There's also a place to ski there in the winter.

Here's our first night in the camper van

We encountered lots of sheep while driving on the South Island

  Next we headed toward Abel Tasman Park and stopped on the way to see the Oharu seal colony.
It was funny watching the seals play around on the rocks.

Here is one of the seals at the Ohau Seal Colony...on our way to Pohara.

 We drove on a road called Takaka Hill which is actually a very steep mountain  road. We spent the night in a town called Pohara and our camp site was right by the beach. The next day was a long drive. We got to see the Punakaiki Pancake Rocks and Blowhole.  The rocks are made of limestone and are 30,000,000 years old! If you get there at high tide, the waves crash against the rocks and  water blasts up through the blowhole.

Famous Punakaiki Blowhole

Birds resting on the pancake rocks

Stay tuned for South Island Part 2!